“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others,” said Douglas MacArthur. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus the epic hero, portrays these same traits in his leadership of his shipmates. He leads them though victories and consoles them through losses. He is sought out for his wisdom and intelligence, and he is well respected for his consistent bravery. Although from an outside perspective Odysseus may seem calm, fearless, and stable, during the many obstacles he faces on his trip home, different sides to is character are revealed. Odysseus must brave monsters, defeat a cyclops, and make many difficult decisions, some that will leave him heartbroken. Throughout these challenges he never fails to serves as a symbol of home, hope and bravery to his crew. …show more content…
For instance, when on the island Aeaea, the island belonging to a goddess named Circe, she lures Odysseus’s men into her house and proceeds to turn them into pigs. One man alone escapes her trap and heads back and reports to Odysseus. Odysseus, instead of worrying about himself and his own well-being, heads into Circe’s house to avenge his crewmates. Odysseus explains his actions: “At that report, I slung my hefty bronze blade of my silver-studded sword around my shoulder.. And told our comrade, ‘lead me back the same way that you came’...necessity drives me on” (Odyssey, 238). This passage shows Odysseus as a true leader for he does not hesitate, does not even think twice, about putting himself in harm's way for his crew. He is clearly portrayed as someone who cares deeply, and is selfless when it comes to those who are close to him. Odysseus is ever loyal to his crew and would never leave them to fend for themselves. Because of this, Odysseus has proven himself to be a selfless and loyal
He arrives at multiple places along the journey, some more dangerous than others. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus is an ineffective leader and shows how risky qualities and carelessness of an individual can lead to disastrous consequences for a group. Odysseus is a poor leader because he shows risky qualities while with his crew at the cyclops. At
The Odyssey Many people deem Odysseus to be an archetype hero. But was he really? Sure, he won many wars, but did he show the characteristics that matter? No!
In the Epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative that describes his arduous journey of his return from the Trojan war to his homeland of Ithaca. Loyalty, patience, and determination,are necessary traits to survive the perilous, painstaking journey that Odysseus embarks upon to return to his native land. Loyalty is exhibited when Odysseus goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s Island despite the probability of jeopardizing his own life. Odysseus presents patience throughout the entirety of his journey, but most specifically when his crew opens the bag of wind, which causes much regression on the embark homeward. Determination is exhibited when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
Additionally, he does not keep control over his shipments, which causes the crew to intensify the unfavorable outcome. Odysseus is a stubborn man who only does what he thinks is best instead of thinking of what is best for everyone. He was, however, a great leader when
For example, Odysseus showed great leadership when he was planning what to do with the suitors with his son, Telemachus, when he said, “Here is your part: at break of day tomorrow home with you, fo mingle with our princes”(Homer 599). Odysseus helped get his life and his family back. Also, the leadership by Odysseus helped get penelope back and also helped him and his son kill all the suitors. For instance, Odysseus also showed good leadership when he said, “Therefore you are to tie me up, tight as a splint, erect along the mast, and if I shout and beg to be united, take more turns of the rope to muffle me”(Homer 581). When Odysseus’s men were with the
In Greek mythology there are over a thousand stories about heroes and their adventures against nature and mystical and dangerous creatures. But there are always a few traits in the heroes that are repeated in all of these stories. And the Odyssey is not different. Through out the Odyssey the main character, Odysseus, shows a number of heroic qualities. Some of those qualities he shows is his kindness for his men, and bravery when facing all of the hardships in the Odyssey.
Odysseus In "The Odyssey", Odysseus of Ithaca is put in many difficult situations on his journey. Some people may say that Odysseus was a good leader, they are wrong. I say that Odysseus was a bad leader in the long run, all of his men died because of him and the men were not loyal to Odysseus. Odysseus was selfish and he sometimes had too much pride in himself which got the men and him into trouble.
Webster Dictionary defines leadership as simply, “providing direction or guidance,” but to be a successful leader one must focus on completing a goal in a way that is beneficial for the majority, not only the one in charge. This can be achieved by utilitarianism, which is doing of what is best for the most number of people, and carrying out actions that lead to positive effects, instead of merely being done with good intentions. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is not an exemplary leader because he went against utilitarianism by not being honest with his men, letting his arrogance control his behavior, and by killing many people in his house without a fair trial. Firstly, a leader must be truthful with those he works with in order for no errors or confusion to occur as a result of information being hidden. In The Odyssey, not being truthful lead to negative consequences for everyone on Odysseus’ ship, and thus contradicted the principle of utilitarianism stating that actions must lead to positive effects.
Dwight Eisenhower once said, "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." Odysseus displayed a lack of integrity and poor leadership by not fully communicating all the facts of the situation
Ultimately Odysseus can be a good leader but behind the scenes, he's not. He may of saved his men multiple times, but also got them killed them due to his neglect. He might be intelligent but really he tolerably manipulated his crew by saying things such as “don’t you want to go back to your home again?”. In closing, throughout the whole story, Odysseus progresses himself and designates many Greek
Odysseus’s Leadership In Homer’s famous epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus, the protagonist who spends the book traveling home after the Trojan War while encountering different obstacles along the way, shows many different admirable qualities. He shows that he is prepared to sacrifice his life to be a good leader for his crew after his success in Troy, and not only wants to return home himself to his family, but also wants his crew to be able to do the same. Though some might argue that he is a flawed leader, his positive traits outnumber his understandable mistakes. Though some might argue that Odysseus shouting at Polyphemus, saying “Odysseus… took your eye:/ Laertes’s son, whose home’s on Ithaka” (9.551-9.552) was a sign of foolishness, he had a right to this anger, as Polyphemus had just devoured many of his friends.
A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus.
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.
Odysseus is a good leader in that he uses his wits to get his men out of trouble. As Odysseus and his men prepare to face Kharybdis and Skylla, his men are nervous, so Odysseus reminds them “‘Have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the kyklopes penned us in his cave? What power we had! Did I not keep my
He has both heroic traits and human weaknesses, which makes him an epic hero. He has defeated a Cyclops, and defeated suitors that were attracted to his wife. Odysseus portrays superhuman strengths in different ways throughout his journey, and exceptional courage. He is very strong and a great leader, and comes upon, but overcomes, many wild beasts. Odysseus excels in using